Grunwick Dispute - Political Involvement

Political Involvement

Three Ministers in the Labour Government who were sponsored by APEX, Shirley Williams, Denis Howell and Fred Mulley, joined the picket line at Grunwick on 19 May 1977; at the time the picket was "relatively small and peaceful". Williams, who was generally known as a moderate, subsequently lost her seat at the 1979 general election and the poet Kingsley Amis commented that "I bet she rued the day she turned up on the Grunwick picket line". Postmen who refused to deliver Grunwick's mail were suspended, disrupting postal service in the area, and the Attorney General refused to initiate any action against them and stopped anyone else from doing so. In August 1977 Sir Keith Joseph, a prominent Conservative politician called the Grunwick dispute "a make-or-break point for British democracy, the freedoms of ordinary men and women" and described Labour ministers who joined the pickets as "'oderates' behind whom Red Fascism spreads". Joseph was seen as speaking beyond his remit, as the more moderate James Prior was the Shadow Employment Secretary. Some Conservative wets called Joseph "off his head" and Thatcher said his comments were "too sharp".